Evidence that Pluto's atmosphere does not collapse from occultations including the 2013 May 04 event.

C. B. Olkin, L. A. Young, D. Borncamp, A. Pickles, B. Sicardy, M. Assafin, F. B. Bianco, M. W. Buie, A. Dias de Oliveira, M. Gillon, R. G. French, A. Ramos Gomes, E. Jehin, N. Morales, C. Opitom, J. L. Ortiz, A. Maury, M. Norbury, F. Braga-Ribas, R. Smith, L. H. Wasserman, E. F. Young, M. Zacharias, and N. Zacharias. Icarus 246, 220 (2015).

ABSTRACT

Combining stellar occultation observations probing Pluto's atmosphere from 1988 to 2013, and models of energy balance between Pluto's surface and atmosphere, we find the preferred models are consistent with Pluto retaining a collisional atmosphere throughout its 248-year orbit. The occultation results show an increasing atmospheric pressure with time in the current epoch, a trend present only in models with a high thermal inertia and a permanent N2 ice cap at Pluto's north rotational pole.

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